Officials respond to Nipmuc cheerleading sanctions

Thursday

Nov 22, 2012 at 6:00 AMNov 22, 2012 at 6:27 PM

By Susan Spencer TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF

A dozen Nipmuc Regional High School cheerleaders were not able to perform at the pep rally yesterday and won’t be allowed to cheer at the traditional Thanksgiving football game today against Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School because they were caught drinking at a sleepover in Mendon Friday night.

Police said two of the girls left the party by ambulance.

“Everyone was released (from the hospital) that night,” Mendon Police Chief Ernest Horn said yesterday. He said the department is investigating the circumstances.

Chief Horn said that he wasn’t aware of any situation quite like this in which a whole squad or team was sanctioned for underage drinking.

William Ambrosino, the homeowner whose daughter hosted the sleepover, told police one girl brought a bottle of vodka and the girls also got their hands on booze he had left in a cooler and forgotten about.

Mr. Ambrosino is chairman of the Mendon Planning Board. He could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Kathleen Drennan, chairwoman of the Mendon-Upton Regional School District Committee, confirmed yesterday that the varsity cheerleaders were barred from performing at the pep rally and football game.

“That’s consistent with MIAA (Massachusetts Interscholastic Athletic Association) rules. The cheerleading team is treated like any other sport,” she said.

Ms. Drennan added that the MIAA sanctions could also prevent the cheerleaders from participating in part of the coming basketball season, but she could not confirm the exact amount of time they would be out. The MIAA’s chemical abuse policy says athletes caught abusing substances must miss 25 percent of the season following the incident.

“There’s zero tolerance for substance abuse among our athletes,” Ms. Drennan said. “We’re going to miss them at the (Thanksgiving) game, but I think it’s a valuable lesson for the young ladies to learn.”

Nipmuc Regional High School is in Upton and serves Mendon and Upton students.

Students decked out in their class colors as they departed the pep rally yesterday said that for some classmates, partying with alcohol is part of high school life.

As for the cheerleaders missing the action at the football game today, Michael Mattox, a senior from Upton, said, “They were just some kids having fun.”

Several recent Nipmuc graduates who returned to visit on their Thanksgiving breaks said students drank when they were in high school, but didn’t get caught.

“It’s high school. In general, drinking in high school happens,” said one of the graduates.

According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, alcohol is the most commonly used and abused drug among youth in the United States, more than tobacco and illicit drugs, and is responsible for more than 4,700 annual deaths among underage youth.

The legal drinking age across the country is 21.

The CDC reports that on average, underage drinkers consume more drinks per drinking episode than adult drinkers. In a 2011 survey, twenty-two percent of high school students reported binge drinking in the previous 30 days.

Binge drinking is defined for men as consuming five or more drinks in about two hours, and for women as consuming four or more drinks.

In 2010, there were approximately 189,000 emergency rooms visits by people younger than 21 for injuries and other conditions linked to alcohol.